TITLE: Marked

AUTHOR: LOTSlove®

CHARACTERS: Richard / Kahlan / Cara / Zedd / Original Characters

RATING: PG-16 / R later

WARNINGS: Author Chooses Not to Use Warnings

TIMELINE: Anything up through S2

DISCLAIMER: I'm completely obsessed with the show Legend of the Seeker and all things Richard and Kahlan. I love to write about them even though they cancelled my show and now I'm fighting to get it back!

SUMMARY: Sequel to my fic Revenge, Richard finally has Kahlan safely back with him, but does he really?

Chapter 11

Cara paced back and forth in simmering frustration, anxious for the sun to finally make its appearance. She was more than ready to be on their way around this damn rift so they could finally catch up with Richard and Kahlan. She didn't like being separated like this no matter how badly the Seeker and Mother Confessor needed time alone right now to work things out.

She wasn't doing her job, upholding her sworn oath to protect her Lord Rahl with her life if she wasn't even with him. They were practically incapable of staying out of trouble alone.

She spun her agiel on its thin gold chain, a scowl fixed on her lips as she paused to watch Zedd sleeping. His snoring could shake the very foundation of the earth and yet he never seemed to wake himself up. What was even creepier was how he slept with his eyes open. It never ceased to unnerve her. It was just so unnatural.

She didn't even know how he could sleep so well right now at a time like this. Richard and Kahlan were broken quite possibly beyond repair, Demos was plotting only spirits knew what and they still had a Stone to find in order to stop the Keeper.

Life couldn't possibly get any more complicated than it was right now. Things were rapidly escalating all around them especially with rifts popping up more frequently every day. It felt as though they were in a hopeless situation with no chance of escape.

Cara began to continue her pacing again only to be brought to an abrupt stop by a sudden sound. She froze, her emerald eyes carefully searching the surrounding shadows that refused to give up its secrets. She slowly allowed the agiel she had been swinging by the chain to slide neatly into her hand, gripping it tightly. Burning pain fired up her arm, but she easily subdued it with her mind.

"Zedd," she whispered, her body tensing with the perceived threat she felt bearing down on them. They couldn't afford to be captured by the Aku, not when they needed to find Richard and Kahlan.

The Wizard snorted in his sleep, causing her to frown in annoyance. "Zedd," she hissed a little louder while still trying to keep her voice low.

Zedd mumbled and grunted through another drawn-out snore, his eyes still open giving the illusion that he was completely awake and aware of the sudden danger. Cara drew a deep breath in a desperate effort to control her mounting anger with the Wizard. If she had a rock in her hand, she would've hurled it at him.

An arrow suddenly soared through the early morning air, landing right beside the sleeping wizard. "Zedd!" she yelled.

The Wizard sat bolt upright, his disheveled white hair sticking out at odd angles. "What?" he snorted in annoyance. "What's going on?"

"We're under attack," she growled, scanning the trees behind her as she flipped her other agiel up into her hand.

Looking down at the arrow sticking out of the ground right beside where he was laying, the Wizard was up and on his feet with surprising agility, his hands outstretched and more than ready for battle.

"Bags!" he swore under his breath as another arrow came through the trees, striking Cara in the shoulder and causing her to fall to her knees.

"Cara!" Zedd yelled, coming to her aid.

"Get down!" she shouted at him as more arrows began to rain down on them.

Dropping her agiel, the Mord'Sith gritted her teeth as she yanked the arrow free from her shoulder. Ignoring the blood oozing from the fresh wound, she picked up her agiel again before crouching low to the ground.

They needed to escape now before they couldn't. "We need to get out of here," Cara snapped.

Keeping low to the ground beside the Mord'Sith, Zedd stretched out his hands, creating an invisible shield before them. Arrows flying through the air abruptly fell well short of its intended target, suddenly dropping from the sky as they came in contact with Zedd's shield.

It didn't take long before half a dozen men came rushing from the trees, hatchets and swords in hand. Dressed in tattered clothes, their faces and arms were streaked with dirt, their eyes wild. They looked like nothing more than simple farmers, displaced to the woods in order to survive.

Zedd immediately dropped his shield, knowing the only way to deal with the attack was head on. Once the shield was down, Cara didn't hesitate for a moment, racing head on to meet the banelings who had started the attack, more than prepared to finish it as quickly as possible.

Raising her agiels, she slammed them into the chest of the first man, his hatchet falling uselessly to the ground as he fell to his knees in pain. Fire shot past over head as Zedd began disposing of the others. She could hear his bones cracking beneath her agiels over the sound of the man's screams.

Releasing them, she stepped back as the man fell dead. She panted hard as she stood over him, her teeth clenched in anger. They didn't have time for this right now. Turning, she ducked just in time as a sword came slicing for her head, coming up with her agiels and connecting with his skull.

The man gritted his teeth against the pain, his body shaking violently with the force of the mind-numbing assault. His mouth fell open, his sword slipping from his hand as he released an earsplitting scream.

Cara followed him to the ground, refusing to release her agiels. Blood began to trickle from his nose as his eyes finally rolled back into his head. Her anger refused to diminish even though she knew the man was dead.

She feared for her friends, worried about what was happening to them. She hated seeing them like this – talking but not really speaking to each other; each hurting deeply, separately, too stubborn or too afraid to get past their private pain to reach out to the other; under constant attack from the unseen evils of the world as well as those who are the full flesh-and-blood embodiment of it.

And she was useless to help them with any of it.

"Cara," Zedd calmly called from behind her, careful not to touch her while gripping the agiel. "That's enough, dear one. He's dead."

Breathing heavily, Cara released her agiels, finally really seeing what was left of the man she had just finished off. His head was deformed; his skull cracked and caved in on the sides, blood trailing from his nose, ears, and mouth. It was a hideous site to behold, his eyes bulging and frozen wide in horror, his mouth now fixed in a silent scream that would never be heard again.

She quickly turned her back to him, attempting to pull herself together as Zedd burned the baneling to keep him from returning just to attack them again. She returned her agiels to her hips, running her fingers back through her air as she drew a deep breath.

Tears pricked her eyes, but she swiftly swallowed them back, refusing to allow them to fall. She crossed her arms firmly against her chest, closing her eyes against the horrifying image of what she had just done. She had never wanted to return to that person that she had been before she had met Lord Rahl and she just had.

A gentle hand on her shoulder caused her to jump despite herself. "It's alright, Cara," he told her.

"No…no, it's not," she softly replied, refusing to face him, to look into that grandfatherly face that she knew would be filled with nothing but compassion and understanding.

"Cara, we all allow our emotions to get the best of us sometimes," he said. "I'm afraid it's a part of being human."

She slowly nodded her head in response as she walked away from him. "We need to get moving," she murmured, kneeling down to gather her things.

"Let me heal your shoulder."

"Later," she insisted. "We need to get out of here."

Zedd watched her for a moment as she stuffed her bedroll into her pack, her shoulders slumped in defeat. He felt sorry for the Mord'Sith that had become so much more to them than the red leather she wore and the agiel that she wielded.

In her effort to become more human, to find herself buried deep within that was struggling to break free, she had tapped into emotions that had long been forgotten. She found friends that she cared about, maybe even loved on some level.

He could hardly blame her for losing control, for unleashing upon that man the pent up frustrations and worries that had been teeming inside of her. He felt them too, shared her concerns and fears. It was only because of his years of training as a wizard that he had been able to curtail those emotions, keeping them from being poured into their unwitting attackers.

Following the Mord'Sith into the woods, he sighed deeply to himself, hating to see her so upset with herself. The path to gaining humanity was a very bumpy one, filled with many obstacles and setbacks that only added to the difficult process.

Today had been one of those days already, but he was certain more now than ever that it would only help, making her even stronger and more human in the end.

XXX

Richard began to stir at the feel of fingers softly stroking his cheek. He tightened his hold on the woman in his arms, thankful that she was at the very least allowing him this. He savored the feel of her perfect form pressed along the full length of his body, her heavenly scent dancing in the air and tickling his senses even further. He longed to wake to this, to her every morning.

As much as he wanted to open his eyes to gaze into the impossibly blue orbs that would be staring back him, he wanted to relish this moment, never wanting it to end. He didn't want to open his eyes to the reality of what was happening around them, between them, threatening to destroy the love they had been fighting so hard for.

He sighed contentedly as she slowly ran her fingertips along his jaw before trailing lightly along his neck to his chest, disappearing inside of his shirt as had become her new form of exploration. It drove him positively wild, her fingers sneaking under the fabric to touch him, excite him like only she ever could.

Gooseflesh formed on his arms, causing a shiver to race up his spine as she lightly raked her fingernails over his nipple, softly circling it with the tip of her finger only to tease it again. He tilted his head back, arching his back ever so subtly as she continued to tease him.

Kahlan could tell by the sudden change in his breathing that he was awake, the way his body tensed beneath her touch. She smiled despite herself, feeling the way his heart began to pound beneath her fingers and knowing that it was all because of her.

Knowing, seeing the way that he hardened and yet melted, flushed and yet shivered, breathed heavily and yet gasped for the air denied him never ceased to amaze or arouse her. The fact that she, a Confessor…no, the powerful Mother Confessor…could be the cause of such intense emotions and reaction in an unconfessed man still astounded her.

She had never thought of herself as a sexual being – needing, wanting, craving. She had always been a Confessor first and foremost, a woman second. Her needs, her wants had all been minimized in the face of the stark reality of what was happening to the world around her. The needs of others, the future of her people had always been first in her heart, pushing herself into the background.

That was until she had met Richard Cypher.

Her Seeker had awakened something so intense, so raw and passionate inside of her, something that she had no idea even existed deep within her. It left her in awe, both a little excited and at the same time scared. She shouldn't be feeling these things, experiencing such intense desire, such heated lust for a man who was not confessed or her mate.

She had tried for so long to bury these feelings, this powerful need that burned so hotly within her that refused to be ignored, but it was growing harder, more desperate. Every day that passed by brought her that much closer to giving into her need for her Seeker, unleashing her deadly magic on the one man that she loved more than life, but could never have and it terrified her.

"I wish you'd trust me, Kahlan."

His soft voice held no anger, no judgment in them. Only love, longing, and the briefest hint of the hurt that pervaded his heart. She quickly pulled her hand free from his shirt, ashamed for her actions when she knew she could never finish what she was starting. He quickly caught her wrist, interlocking their fingers and holding her hand tightly against his chest.

Kahlan pressed her face into the crook of his neck, brushing an apologetic kiss against his warm skin. "I do," she murmured.

Richard sighed with her words, not knowing where to go with this, wanting so desperately for her talk to him and yet afraid of pushing her again. "Talk to me, Kahlan," he softly begged her, bringing their joined hands to his lips and kissing her knuckles. "Please…"

It had been another rough night of nightmares and a headache that refused to fully leave. It was beginning to terrify him, fearing what was truly happening to his beloved Confessor. He hoped that if she opened herself up to him, told him the things that haunted her dreams and besieged her heart that she might finally be able to sleep, finally be his Kahlan again.

The silence lingered for what felt like an eternity to Richard as he waited patiently when he felt anything but patient at that moment. He silently pleaded with her as he waited with bated breath, hoping against hope that they could finally, truly work things out between them, resolving this crushing tension that pressed in on them.

"I…I can't…Richard," was her soft, broken response as she tried to sit up.

Richard tightened his hold on her, keeping her lying flush against him despite her refusal to talk to him, the painful sting in his heart that nearly brought tears to his eyes. "It's alright," he whispered as he finally found his voice, tilting down and kissing the top of her head. "I understand."

But he didn't understand, didn't want to try to understand. He wanted her talk to him, to let him in and be her everything. He wanted to sit up and grab hold of her, shake her until she opened up to him. Frustration and anger filled his soul, seeping into every fiber of his being.

He loved this woman with his whole heart, would give everything for her including his very life. He knew that he couldn't force her to totally trust him with her heart, push her into letting him in no matter how much it hurt him.

Kahlan bit her bottom lip, fighting back the tears that welled from within. She wanted more than anything to let him in to heal her hurts, but she couldn't. It would only cause him more pain than he'd already had to endure. She couldn't do that to him.

"I'm sorry, Richard," she whispered, slowly pressing her lips against his neck again and lingering there.

"It's alright," he forced himself to say, blinking back the tears that sought release.

"No…it's not," she murmured as she suddenly moved to straddle him.

Kahlan leaned over him, grasping his face with her hands and softly brushing her lips against his. Her gentle pleas for forgiveness whispered against his mouth were barely heard over the sudden pounding of his heart in his ears. The feel of her lips so soft and sweet against his, the feel of her body hovering above his was combining to drive him mad with need.

He lay very still beneath her, fearful that if he moved she would disappear, shifting off of him and abruptly ending the amazing sensations beginning to make him dizzy with want for her. Her long dark hair fell over her shoulder, tickling against his face as her kisses became a more urgent, more desperate.

"I'm so sorry, Richard," she whispered against his lips between kisses that were growing more passionate and less apologetic by the moment.

Unable to bear not touching her a moment longer, Richard's hands quickly found her hips, his fingers digging into her and holding her down as he raised his hips to ground against her. Her head fell back with a sudden sharp gasp, her breathing growing ragged as he repeated his actions once more, her heated response thrilling his very soul.

He knew deep down that Kahlan loved him, wanted to be with him as desperately as he wanted to be with her, but fear was holding her hostage, keeping her from sharing her heart as well as her body with him. He swore to himself as he began to lose himself in her passionate kisses that he would fight for her with every breath he drew, banishing her every fear as effectively as he banished the enemy with his sword.

He would not fail her in this, would be her salvation no matter the cost to himself because she was his Kahlan, his love, his beloved soul-mate. He knew beyond any doubts, without question that she was his future, she was his life, she was where he would always belong.

Without a second thought, Richard quickly wrapped his arms around her, rolling her onto her back and pinning her to the ground with his body. They shared a momentary heated breath before his lips collided with hers, his hands slipping into her thick hair.

Kahlan raised her hips in response, rolling her pelvis against his and earning a throaty growl that only served to heat her blood even more. She clawed at his back through the material covering it, wanting to be nothing but hot skin against hot skin.

Releasing her lips, he gasped for air before continuing his tortuous assault down the creamy column of her throat, savoring the feel of her beneath him, the taste of her skin. His hands began to skim down her sides, caressing her through the material.

Her legs shifted around him, allowing him to settle between her long limbs. This was where he always wanted to be. This was home. He had never been more sure of anything in his entire life than he was of this.

Kissing along the tops of her breasts, Richard felt Kahlan grow rigid, her hands suddenly letting go of his body. A sharp cry left her lips as she grabbed her head and arched her back, squeezing her eyes closed against the sharp assault.

"Kahlan?" he panted, quickly moving off of her and grabbing more seeds.

"I'm so sorry…Richard…" she breathed through the pain, tears leaking from the corners of her eyes.

"You have nothing to be sorry for," he insisted as he fought to tamp down on the arousal pounding through his body. He reached out to brush her hair from her face that had grown so pale, his heart hammering from fear instead of passion now.

"We…we just can't…" she cried as he helped her sit up, pulling her against him as he held her.

"I shouldn't have pushed you like that," he softly said as he handed her a seed. "I'm going to give you as much time as you need to work through everything by yourself, Kahlan. Just know that I'm here for you if you want to talk to me. I'll always be here."

Taking the seed from his hand, she slowly nodded her head, unable to talk at that moment. She wanted more than anything to give him everything that she was, to share her hurts, her anger and fears…herself, but she just couldn't.

He was her world and she couldn't risk losing him.

Just then, the door to the Spirit House suddenly opened, Tolla Nakunam entering with Temin and Hadi close on his heels. "I'm sorry, but it is time to meet with Mitta and the Council of Elders," he grimly informed them.